Shelves and the like have conventionally been supported on slotted uprights by utilizing brackets which employ a plurality of vertically spaced, L-shaped hooks which project through a plurality of spaced slots in the upright. While this basic bracket-and-upright structure cooperates in a desirable manner to provide both strength and convenience of assembly, nevertheless this structure has proven undesirable in many instances. One of the primary disadvantages of this structure is the inability to insure that the brackets are securely seated on the upright. In many instances the brackets are improperly seated and, in time, may fall off of the upright or may become accidentally dislodged due to application of an upward external force thereto. This is obviously undesirable since not only is it damaging to the component, but it can also be harmful to personnel in the vicinity.
In an attempt to eliminate this disadvantage, numerous brackets have been devised which provide a positive lock between the bracket and upright, which lock normally employs a spring-type locking element or detent engageable with one of the slots to prevent upward movement of the bracket, and hence prevent dislodgement thereof from the upright. Other known brackets, other than relying on a spring lock, have instead provided a separate lock movably supported on the bracket and normally manually movable either by sliding or hinging thereof into a locking relationship with the bracket. Examples of several conventional brackets and systems employing locking features are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,697,034 (Shell), 977,609 (Freeman), 2,127,280 (Zimbalist), 857,543 (Thomas), 2,576,865 (Vanderveld), 3,895,774 (Sharpe), and 3,966,158 (Boundy).
While known structures of the above type have proven satisfactory with respect to their ability to lock the bracket to the upright, nevertheless these known structures possess other disadvantages which have made their use less than satisfactory, or have prevented or greatly restricted their utilization in various environments. For example, brackets which utilize a separate hinging or sliding lock member have proven undesirable since the lock member must normally be manually actuated, rather than resulting in an automatic locking of the bracket to the upright. These structures also require more extensive and expensive fabrication and assembly techniques. The use of a separate lock member of this type also normally results in the lock member being of substantial size, with the lock member also being positioned so as to be readily available for actuation, and hence the lock member is undesirably visible at all times and hence is unacceptable for use when the bracket is associated with furniture components and the like. Further, when the bracket is continuously visible, this makes the bracket more susceptible to being accidentally released due to the lock member being accidentally released by persons who are not knowledgeable as to the operation of the structure involved.
Further, most of the known structures, including those involving the use of automatically engageable spring-type locking elements, have been undesirably large and hence unsightly, and have also been normally positioned for visibility and/or accessibility at all times, thereby facilitating the release thereof and hence the accidental disconnection of the bracket from the upright. These structures have also normally required fabrication and assembly of a spring to the bracket, and hence have substantially increased the cost and complexity of the overall assembly.
Accordingly, the present invention relates to an improved bracket having an automatically engageable locking element associated therewith to positively lock the bracket to the upright, which bracket overcomes the numerous disadvantages mentioned above.
More specifically, the present invention relates to an improved bracket for attaching a component to a slotted upright, which bracket includes one or more conventional downwardly-opening L-shaped hooks adapted for engagement with the slots of the upright, and also includes an integral locking element which is sufficiently resilient so as to snap into one of the slots when the bracket is properly seated to thereby indicate proper engagement of the bracket on the upright and simultaneously prevent upward lifting of the bracket relative to the upright. The locking element comprises an elongated cantilever spring having a slot-engaging hook or projection at the outer end thereof. The locking element is integral with the bracket and formed of the same platelike material so as to be relatively stiff yet slightly resilient, thereby ensuring positive seating of the locking projection within the slot when the bracket is properly seated on the upright, while at the same time facilitating the manufacture of a simple and inexpensive bracket.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved bracket, as aforesaid, which can be automatically and positively locked to the upright while at the same time being disposed so as to be totally hidden between the upright and the supported component, hence preventing the accidental release of the locking element and at the same time providing a pleasing visual and aesthetic appearance. The bracket and the integral spring-lock of this invention, so as to achieve this desirable advantage, is extremely small and compact.
A further object of this invention is to provide an improved bracket, as aforesaid, which is particularly desirable for mounting a furniture component such as a bookshelf, file cabinet or the like to an upright space-divider panel of the type used in offices and the like, whereby the shelflike component is provided with a pair of spaced end panels which each have a bracket associated therewith for attaching the end panels to the slotted posts or uprights associated with the opposite vertical edges of the space-divider panel. The improved bracket of this invention is particularly desirable for use in this environment since the bracket provides for positive locking of the furniture component to the space-divider panel, while at the same time the bracket is extremely small and compact so as to be totally hidden from view and hence not destroy the aesthetics of the assembled office furnishings. The bracket of this invention also preferably incorporates a simplified, yet hidden structure to simplify release thereof when disassembly of the furniture component from the space-divider panel is desired, which release can be effected by utilization of a simplified tool such as a screw driver or the like.
Other objects and purposes of the invention will be apparent to persons familiar with structures of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.